Skip mechanism for switch actuating timer



June 14; 1960 c. .I. GOODHOUSE SKIP MECHANISM FOR swrrca ACTUATING TIMER2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed May 17, 1957 g. i INVENTOR.

June 14, 1960 c. J GQODHOUSE 2,940,317

SKIP MECHANISM FOR SWITCH ACTUATING TIMER Filed May 17, 1957 2Sheets-Sheet 2 United States Patent a Carl J. Goodhouse, Idtchiield,Conn.,- assignor, by mesne assignments, to moral Time Corporation, NewYork,

N.Y.', a corporation of Delaware" May 1.957, No. 659,939 6 (01. 14:35:

This invention relates to switch. actuating timers and more particularlyto a timer having a skip mechanism permitting. switch actuation to beinterrupted during selected timer cycles without" disturbing normaloperation during the remaining cycles.

Switch actuating timers have come into common use for automaticallyturning on and 0E devices such as air conditioners, lights, radios, etc.Such timers usually cycle each twenty-four hours, so that each day atthe selected time the device is turned on, and, at another predeterminedtime, turned off. This mode of operation is quite satisfactory whendaily operation is desired, but in many cases there is no need to repeatthe cycle each day. Business. establishments which are closed certaindays of the week, for enample, often prefer not to have equipment suchas air conditioners automatically operating. during those periods.

It is possible, of course, to disconnect a timer if subsequent.operation is not desired, but this sacrifices the advantage of automaticoperation and requires reconnection of the timer before automaticoperation is resumed. Considering the example mentioned above of the airconditioner used in a businessfirm, such devices usually are controlledby a switch actuating timer so as to go on early in the morning in orderto establish the desired temperature before thefbusiness day starts, andthen are switched off at night. If the timer is disconnected to preventthis cycle of operation over the weekend, it must be reconnectedSunda'y'evening or quite early Monday morning if the air cpl dition'er is. to"function properly that 'day; Reconnecti ng the timer at such timesis'naturally quite' inconvenient.

Inorder to meet this problem, timers have been used which includeseparate On and Off devices for each day of the week. These mechanismsrequire individual setting of each such device to achieve uniform dailyoperation while skipping theweekends or other non-working days. Ofnecessity, such mechanisms must either be large and'bulky, or have theirtime, measuring scales so compressed that the setting of the'devices foraccurate switch operation becomes very difiicult.

Accordingly, it is the general aim of the invention to provide a novelswitch actuating timer afiording adjustable On-Off switch control duringa selected repeating cycle and which includes an adjustable skipmechanism permitting the timer to be selectively disabled duringselected cycles while performing normally during the remaining cycles.With more particularity, it is an object to provide a; switch' actuatingtimer" which will open 7 and closea switch at selected times during eachday but which can be set to automatically skip or avoid switch operationduring anyfselected .day or days of the week.

It 'is another object to provide a switch actuating timer of the typecharacterized above which is exceptionally simple andtherefore-economical to manufacture, requiring but a single gearedconnection and no complicated clockwork mechanisms. It is' a collateralobject to provide a switch actuating timer of this type'that is2,940,317 Patented June 14, 1960.

exceptionally sturdy, requiring no critical adjustments. It is anotherrelated object to provide such a timer that is unusually compact,permitting neat, inconspicuous installation.

It is a further object to provide a switch actuating timer of the typementioned above that may be simply and easily adjusted, withoutrequiring. the use of tools, to disable the actuator during anyparticular cycle of its operation. It is a related object to providesuch a timer which permits simultaneous disabling of an entire dailyprogram ofOn-Off switch operation, no matter how involved, withoutdisturbingthe program setup so that the switch operating cycle can bequickly reestablished when desired. It is a more detailed object toprovide a timer having the above characteristics which will actuate aswitch in accordance with a desired program only on certain selecteddays of the week, but which does not require separate programcalibration for each day of operation.

It is also an object to provide a timer of this type which is reliableand trouble free and which operates in a firm positive manner so that,once installed and set, it can be depended upon to function dependablyand" steadily for long periods of time.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent uponreading the attached detailed description, and upon reference to thedrawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a front view of a switch actuating timer constructed inaccordance with the present invention,

Fig. 2 is a sectional view taken along line 2+2 of Fig. 1. v Fig. 3 is asectional view of the timer shown in Fig, 1 taken beneath the frontplate so as to show the operat ing mechanism.

Fig. 4 is similar to Fig. 3 with the different position.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary detail view showing the operation of a portionof the structure appearing in Fig. 3.

' Figs. 6a to 6d are fragmentary stop-motion views showing a typicaloperating cycle whichoccurs on selected days. resulting in closing ofthe switch.

Figs. 7a and 7b are fragmentary stop-motion views showing the trippingof the switch'into open position at a predetermined later time.

Figs. 8a to 8c are fragmentary stop-motion views similar to Figs. 6a to6d but showing the idle movement which occurs on non-selected days. p v

While the invention will be described in connection with a preferredembodiment, it will be understood that I' do not intend to limit theinvention to that embodi ment. On the contrary, I intend to cover allalterations, modifications, and equivalents as maybe included inv thespirit and scope of the invention as defined by the appended claims.

' Turning first to Fig. 1, there is shown a switch actuating timer 10'embodying-the invention and including a front frame plate 11 and a rearframe plate 12 separated, and rigidly connected, by a plurality ofpillars 13. The timer 10 is effective to operate a switch 15 which issupported on. an insulated switch mounting plate 16. that is secured tothe top of the back frame plate 12 and rigidly positioned by a pillar 17extending rearwardly from the front frame plate 11. b

' The switch 15 comprises a fixed contact 18 and a movable contact 19.The movable contact 19 is carried by a resilient arm 20 firmly securedto the switch mounting plate '16 at the point 21 (see Fig. 3). In orderto operate the switch-15, a pivoted switch operating lever 25 isprovided which swings about the pivot 26 and carries an actuating stub27 that bears against the underside of the resilient contact supportingarm 20; It can be seen that when the operating lever 25 is swung partsin a somewhat upwardly, as in Fig. 3, the stub 27 will bear against thearm 20 and resiliently urge the contact 19 upwardly into engagement withthe fixedtcontact 18. However, when the operating lever 25 is allowed todrop downwardly, the stub 27 releases the pressure on the underside ofthe resilient arm 20 so that the arm may straighten and carry themovable contact 19 away from the fixed contact 18 and thus open theswitch 15. In short, the resilience in the arm 20 thus tends to keep thecontacts 18, 19 separated and the switch 15 open, but when the operatinglever 25 is swung upwardly to overcome the resilient force in the arm20, the contacts 18, 19 are brought into engagement and the switch 15.isclosed.

In order to position the operating. lever 25 and thus control theoperation of the switch 15, an actuator, generally indicated at 30, isprovided. Itcan be seen that the actuator comprises a spring-biased,pivoted arm 31 carrying a camming tip 32 which cooperates with anabutment 33, formed on the switch operating lever 25. The arm 31 isspring-biased toward a stop 36 at the left of the arm by a tensionedspring 34, and the abutment 33 is adjacent a hole or opening 35 formedin the opcrating lever 25. When the spring-biased arm 31 is pulled tothe left against the stop 36, the carnming tip 32 will be disposedwithin the hole or opening 35, so that the operating lever 25 will befree to move downwardly under the urging of the resilient arm 20 and.the switch 15 will be opened (see Fig. 4).

For the purpose of raising the abutment 33 onto the cammingtip 32 whenthe carnming tip is disposed within the opening 35, or in other words,to move the operating lever 25 from a switch-open to a switch-closedposition,

the camming tip 32 is pivoted to the arm 31 at 42 so that it mayidlywipe beneath the abutment 33 when the actuator arm 31 is swung tothe right and the camming tip is also provided with an inclined edge 43that will cam the abutment 33 upwardly onto the camming tip when theactuator arm 31 moves againtoward the left. The tip 32' is biased intoits normal upstanding position by a spring 45 which urges a lug 46formed on the tip into .engagement with the back of the actuator arm 31.The lug 46 prevents the tip from pivoting in a clockwise direction whenthe inclined edge 43 cams the abutment 33 upwardly, but permits the tipto swing in a clockwise direction to wipe past the abutment when the arm31 moves to the right.

Thus, when the actuator arm 31 and its camrning tip 7 32 are swung tothe right, the tip 32 wipes past the abutment to a point beyond it. Thesubsequent partial return causes the abutment to be cammed upwardly tothe position shown in Fig. 3. This closes the switch contacts 18, 19. Tohold the actuator arm 31 in its right hand, or switch closing position,a latch 40 is provided which is spring-biased downwardly to capture alug 41 formed on the arm 31 and thus retain the switch actuator arm inits switch-closing position against the resilient force of the biasingspring 34.

With regard to tripping of the latch 40 it will be understood that whenthe switch 15 is closed and the abutment 33 is supported on the cammingtip 32 (see Fig. 3), the switch 15 may be opened by swinging the latchupwardly to release the lug 41 and permit the spring 34 to move the arm31 to the left, thereby moving the camming tip 32 beneath the abutment33 and disposing it within the opening 35. I

Cyclic operation of the actuator arm 31, and thus of the switch 15, isefiected by means of a uniformly rot'ated timing disk 50 carrying apositionable camming clip 51 which turns the switch On and apositionable tripping clip 52 which turns the switch Off. The disk 50 isfixed to a rotatable sleeve 53 on which is carried a gear wheel 54 (seeFig. 2); timing motor 55 through a gear box 56 which drives a pinion 57in meshing engagement with the gear wheel 54. In the preferredembodiment, the motor 55 is a The disk is driven by a,

synchronous, constant speed motor which is effective to rotate the disk50 at a uniform rate. The gear reduction in the gear box 56 ispreferably selected so that the disk 50 rotates once every 24 hours.

The tripping clip 52 has a (i-shaped configuration (see Fig. 2) allowingit to be fitted about the periphery of the disk 50, and it is lockedinto place by tightening a set screw 61. In order to release thelatch'40 and thus open the switch contacts 18, 19, the tripping clip 52is provided with a trip 62 extending axially inward from the back sideof the disk 50. As the disk 50l'revolves, the trip 62 describes a pathof movement which brings it into contact with the end of the latch 40(see Figs. 7a and 7b). Therefore, during each revolution of the disk 50the trip 62 is effective to swing the-latch 40 and release the actuatorarm 31 so that it may move to the left and open the contacts of theswitch 15.

In carrying out the invention, the camming clip 51 is similar to theclip 52 except that it is provided with a radially extending finger 65rather than an axially projecting trip portion. The finger 65-is held onthe clip 51 by means of a set screw 66 which may also be tightened tolock the clip 51 at a selected position on the disk 50, although thefinger is at all times free for limited pivoting movement forreasonswhich will become clear. The finger 65 is provided with an arcuatecamming edge 67 which is effective, as the finger is carried around bythe disk 50, to engage the lug 41 formed on the actuating arm 31 toforce the actuating arm to the right (see Figs. 6a to 6d).

It can be seen that both the camming clip 51 and the tripping clip 52can be adjustably positioned about the periphery of the disk 50 so thatthe switch 15 may be turned On and Off at slected times during eachrevolution of the disk 50. If desired, suitable indicia may be inscribedon the outer surfaceof the disk '50 to aid in positioning the clips 51,52 (see Fig. 1). It will also be understood that any number ofsuch clipsmay be employed about the peripheryof the disk 50 in "order to operatethe switch 15. several times duringeach 24- hour cycle of the timer 10.

In accordance with the presentinvention, the timer 10 is provided with astep cycling member operating on a cycle which is an integral multipleof the cycle of the disk and which advances one step at the end of eachcycle of the disk, the step cycling member carrying positionable meansfor causing the camfinger 65 to be abled during'selected cycles of thedisk for operation of the switch 15 and disabled during the remainingcycles. In the preferred embodimennthe finger'65 is provided with a tail68 extending radiallyinwardfrom'the screw 66 on which it is freelypivoted. .Coopei'ating withthe tail 68 is a step cycling rnmbergenerallyindicatedfat 70 which includes a drum 71 having a plurality ofthumbscrews 72 spaced about its periphery. By means of a steppingmechanism to be described, the disk 71 is stepped forward one step foreach cycle of. the timing disk to bring the thumbscrew positionssuccessively opposite the switch operating lug 41, which latter positionmay be referred to, conveniently as the active position. When thescrewin the active position is screwed in, the shank portion thereofprojects into the path of movement of the tail 68 of the finger. Thus,as the finger is about to act upon the lug 41, the screw forms anabutment which resists the reactive force accompanying the throwing ofthe lug 41 soth'at. the finger is effectively abled or rigidified foroperation of the switch. Conversely, when the screw in the activeposition is screwed out, the shank thereof is withdrawnfrom the path ofmovement of the tail portion-68. I This permits the finger 65 to rotateabout its pivot so that the finger idly wipes past the lug 41 withoutoperating the switch during the corresponding cycle of the disk.

To control the limits through which the finger 65 may swing about itspivot 66 so that it cannot jam the mechanism, a cooperating pin and slotconnection 69 is interbetween the finger and the actuator ar'im'31. Theslot of the connection 69 permits the finger to swing freely when idlywiping past the lug 41 but retains the linger in position so that itstail end 68 l Properly engage the next extended thumbscrew.

In the preferred embodiment, there are seven thumbscrews 72 equallyspaced about the periphery of the drum 71 and the drum is indexed oncefor each revolution of the disk i It will thus be apparent that the drum70 makes a complete revolution once every seven in this way, every 24hours, a subsequent thumbscrew 72 is positioned where it rnay' serve asan abutment for the finger 65 and permit operation of the switch.

' It is a feature of the invention that the intermittently cyclingmechanism. 70 is driven by the timing motor 55 which rotates the timingdisk 50. In the present embodiment this is accomplished by mounting thedrum 71 on a shaft 75 which extends through the sleeve 53 and isjournal'ed in the back frame plate 12. The sleeve 53 is shorter than theshaft 75 and a ratchet 76 is fixed to the shaft at a point beyond thesleeve 53 (see Figs. 2 and 5) The ratchet 76 is provided with seventeeth which cooperate with a spring-biased indexing pawl 77 pivoted to aratchet arm 78 which is resiliently urged to the right by a spring 78a.78 is moved back and forth between its left and right hand positions,the indexing pawl 77 will engage successive teeth on the ratchet 76 andthus rotate the shaft 75 and the drum 71 in discrete steps. To preventthe ratchet 76 from backing up, a spring-biased pawl 78 is provided asis common in such devices.

To permit the timing motor 55 to move the ratchet arm 78 back and forth,a cam 80 having a single dropotf portion 81 is secured to the sleeve 53in position to cooperate with a pin 82 fixed to the ratchet, arm 78. Itwill therefore be seen that as the cam 80 rotates in a counterclockwisedirection, being driven by the timing motor 55 through rotation of thesleeve 53', the pin 82, and thus the ratchet arm 78', will be forced tothe left until the pin rides off the drop-off portion 81 of the cam 80.When this happens, the spring 78a which biases the ratchet arm 78 to theright will be effective to move the arm to the right and thus cause thepawl 77 to advance the ratchet in. a clockwise direction. the distanceof one tooth or V of a single revolution.

It will be. noted that both the cam 80 and the timing diskv 50. aresecured to the sleeve 53, and in the preferred embodiment relativeangular position of these two members is selected so that the drop-offportion 81 is presented to the pin 82 when the 12 oclock midnightposition on the disk 50 is adjacent the lug 41 formed on the actuatorarm 31.

It will be appreciated from the foregoing that during each twenty-fourhours the timing disk 50 will make a complete revolution, and duringthat single cycle the finger 65 and the tripping clip 52 will beeffective to close and then open the contacts of the switch 15. At theend of each twenty-four hour cycle of the disk 50, the cam 80 will beeffective to advance the ratchet 76 a single tooth length and thus indexthe intermittently cycling member 70 to bring a successive thumbscrewabutment 72 into position opposite the lug 41 formed on the arm 31.Therefore, each day a subsequent thumbscrew 72 is presented adjacent thelug 41 and since there are seven thumbscrews, each one represents aparticular day of the week. By backing off a particular thumbscrew 72 sothat there will be no projecting portion extending from the rear surfaceof the drum 71, .cyclic operation of the switch 15 is prevented duringthat particular twenty-four hour cycle of the timing disk 50. If it isdesired to prevent operation of the switch 15 at all times, each of thethumbscrews 72 may be backed off.

For the purpose of briefly summarizing the operation of the timer =10,reference will now be made to the stop It will be apparent that as thearm motion views shown in- Figs. '6, 7 and 8. In Fig. 6a, tl1e stepcycling member 70 is turned so that the pin 72 labeled Friday isopposite the lug 41 in the active position and the finger'65, carried bythe disk 50, approaches the lug. Friday being a normal workday, thethumbscrew 72 has been screwed into the drum 71 so that its shankportion is in the path of movement of the tail end 68- of the finger 65.

In Fig. 6b, the finger has engaged both the thumbscrew 72 and the lug 41on the actuator arm and has commenced to cam the actuator lug outwardlyand thus urge the arm 31 to the right. In Fig. 6c the finger hascompleted its carnming movement so that camming tip 32 of the actuatorarm' 31 is positioned at the right of the abutment 33. In Fig. 6d'thelug 41 has been released and the spring-biased arm 31 returned to theleft and latched in its switch-operating position with the abutment 33supported on the cammin'g tip 32. h

At a" later time duringthe day; trip 62 will be carried by the timingdisk 50into engagement with the latch 40, as shown in Fig. 7a, andcontinued movement of the trip 62 will 'move the latch 40 upwardly torelease the arm 31 and allow it to move to the left. This will move thecamming tip 32 from under the abutment 33 and the operating lever 25will drop downwardly to open the switch.

Following completion of the 24 hour cycle of the timing disk 50, thestep cycling member is indexed one step so as to bring the thumbscrewlabeled Saturday" opposite the lug 41. on the actuating arm 31. SinceSaturday is a normal non-working day the thumbscrew 72a will be backedoff so that its shankportion does not project into the path of movementof the tail end 68 of the finger '65. Thus, as the finger is carried bythe timing disk 50 from the position shown in Fig. 8a to the positionshownin Fig. 8b, where the finger first engages the lug 41, the fingerexerts no camming force against the lug and it merely idly wipes pastwithout operating the actuator arm 31. Thus, during the 24 hour cycleassociated with the Saturday position of'the step cycling member 70, theswitch 15 will not be operated.

In order to close the contacts of the switch 15 so that they will remainclosed and not be opened when the trip 62 engages the latch 40, a manualswitch operating control 'i'sprovided The control 90 includes a;positioning lever 91 journaled on thefront of the front frame plate '11and connected to rotate a cam 92 secured on the back of 'the'plate '1-1.Thecam 92 underlies the switch operating lever 25 and is provided with aflattened port-ion 93 which provides sufiicient clearance to permit theoperatinglever 25 to be raised and lowered under the control of theactuator arm 31 for opening and closing the switch contacts 18, 19.However, when the operating lever is swung to the right, the cam 92 issimilarly rotated to bring the underside of the operating lever 25 uponto the rounded portion of the cam 92 so as to raise the operatinglever and close the contacts 18, 19. When the operating lever is in thisupraised position, it will be apparent that movement of the actuator arm31 under the control of the finger 65 and trip 62 will have no effect onthe switch 15, and the contacts 18, 19 will remain closed until thepositioning lever 91 is swung back to the left into the automaticoperating position.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a timer for an air conditioning unit or the like the combinationcomprising a controllable element, a

timing disk having means for driving the same on a 24- hour cycle, meansincluding a clip having a pivotable finger selectively positionable onsaid disk for operating said element incident to disk rotation, acyclically stepped disk mounted concentrically with said timing disk andhaving a cycle which is an integral multiple of the cycle of said timingdisk, said stepped disk having a plurality of abling elements arrangedthereon and cooperating with said finger so that said finger is madeeffective to operate said element during selected ones of the cycles orsaid timingdisk.

.2; In antactuating timer, the combination comprising, a steadily driventiming member, anactuator positioned adjacent said timer, a pivotedfinger carried by said membet for operating said actuator, means forsupporting and presentinga series of abutments etfective for blockingrotation of said finger as it operates said actuator, said meansincluding anindexing device to successively present a subsequentabutment to the finger each time the finger is carried by the memberinto position to operate the actuator, and means permitting theselective withdrawal of individual ones of said abutments relative totheir support so that if an abutment has been withdrawn when presentedto said finger, the finger will be permitted to idly rotate withoutoperating said actuator.

3. In an actuating timer, the combinationcomprising, a uniformly rotatedtiming disk, an actuator positioned adjacent said disk, a pivoted fingeradjustably positioned on said disk for operating said actuator uponrotation of said disk, :means for supporting and presenting a series ofabutments effectivetor blocking-rotation of said finger as it operatessaid actuator, said means including an indexing device tosuccessivelypresent a subsequent abutment to the finger each time the finger iscarried by'the disk into position to operate the actuator, and anadjustable mounting for each of the abutments permitting the selectivewithdrawal of individual ones of said abutrnents relative to theirsupport so thatif an abutment has been withdrawn when, presented to saidfinger, the finger will be permitted to idly rotate without operatingsaid actuator.

4. An actuating timer comprising, in combination, a timing disk andmeans ,to rotate the disk through a cycle at uniform speed, an actuatorpositioned adjacent the periphery of said disk, a lug adjustablypositioned on the disk and supporting a pivoted finger which iseffective, when extended'outwardly of said, disk, to operate saidactuator, a drum mountedfor rotation concentrically with said disk, aseries of abutment pins mounted at equally spaced positions abouttheperiphery of saiddrum, means including an inde iingdevice forrotating said drum stepby-step so that the pins are successivelypositioned opposite said actuator each time the disk rotates, said pinsbeing effective, when opposite said actuator, to block rotation of saidfinger and maintain the finger extended outwardly of thedisk so that theactuator is operated as the disk rotates, and means to withdraw selectedpins relative to s-aid drum so that they will'not be effective to blockrotation of said finger when the finger seeks to 0p crate the actuator,thus permitting thefinger to idly rotate and the timer to skip operationof the actuator during those cycles of rotation when a withdrawn pin isopposite theaotuator; I 7 t 5. An actuating timer comprising, in.combination, a timing disk and means for uniformly cycling said disk, anactuator positioned at the periphery of said disk, a positionable lugmounted on said disk at a selected point for operating said actuator ata desired time during the disk cycle, said lug including a fingerpivoted at its central portionand having an actuator engaging tip and anopposite tail end, a plurality of abutment elements for engaging thetail end of said finger as the latter is brought around by the disk intoengagement with the actuator, each of said elements being efiective forresisting the reactive force of the actuator and thus permitting thefinger to operate the actuator, means for successively advancing saidelements into finger engaging positions with a subsequent element beingadvanced every cycle of said disk, and means for manually removingselected ones of said elements from the movement path of the tail end ofsaid finger so that the latter is disabled during those cycles in whichthe finger cannot engage an element. 7

6. An actuating timer comprising, in combination, a timing disk andmeans for uniformly cycling said disk, an actuator positioned at theperiphery of said disk, a positionable lug mounted on said disk at aselected point for operating said actuator at a desired time during thedisk cycle, said lug including a finger pivoted at its central portionand having an actuator engaging tip and an opposite tail end, aplurality of abutment elements for engaging the tail end of said fingeras the latter is brought around by the disk into engagement with theactuator, said finger being efiective to operate said actuator when thefinger tip engages, the actuator and the finger tail end engages anabutment element, each of said elements being effective for resistingthe reactive force of the actuator when the finger operates theactuator, means for intermittently advancing said elements through acycle which is a multiple of said disk cycle with a subsequentabutr'nent element being advanced into finger engaging posie tionforeach cycle of said disk, and means for manually removingselected'ones of said elements from the movement path of the tail end ofsaid finger so that the latter is disabled during those disk cycles inwhich the finger cannot engage an element.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,992,273 Wilmeth et al Feb. 26, 1935 2,034,178 Flegel Mar. 17, 19362,437,401 Nilson Mar. 9, 1948 2,596,330 Everard May 13, 1952 2,695,342Junghans et al Nov. 23, 1954

